EcoCash announces new transaction limit

Harare – Zimbabwe’s largest mobile payment solution EcoCash, owned by Econet Zimbabwe, has announced another reduction of its monthly transaction limit for its EcoCash debit card.

In a text message sent to its subscribers, Econet said cardholders can now only transact for up to $300 per month.

“This limit is split, with $50 set for ATM cashouts, $200 for POS (point of sale) transactions and another $50 for online purchases,” the text read.

This is the fourth reduction of transactions from EcoCash. In October 2016 it set its limit at $1 100, which was revised to $500 in December 2016.

In February this year, the amount was reversed yet again to $400 per month, split between $200 for ATM cashouts and $200 for POS (point of sale) transactions and virtual payments which cover online purchases.

Just last month, Econet scaled down the issuance of new debit cards for the EcoCash service, in line with the central bank’s directive to monitor foreign expenditure.

Local financial institutions have been finding it hard to meet foreign payment obligations on the back of low nostro balances as foreign currency shortages persist.

In its latest Mid-Term Monetary Policy Statement released on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said it has arranged almost $1bn worth of facilities to deal with the forex crisis.

The central bank said it has negotiated a $600m nostro stabilisation from Afreximbank.

The RBZ also renewed the African Export-Import Bank Trade Backed Securities (Aftrades) facility at an enhanced level of $400m for another two years to mature in 2019.